Hybrid compressor

ABSTRACT

A hybrid compressor may include a pulley, a drive shaft protruding from a housing while passing through the pulley and selectively connected to the pulley to thereby be rotated, a rotation plate connected to a second end portion of the drive shaft and rotatably disposed in the housing, a swash plate hinge-coupled to the rotation plate and rotated together with the rotation plate, at least one piston reciprocating to be selectively inserted into a compression chamber provided in the housing in the case in which the swash plate is rotated, a motor unit selectively transferring a torque generated depending on whether or not power is applied thereto to the drive shaft and mounted at a side end of the housing to correspond to a first end portion of the drive shaft, and a torque transfer unit selectively connecting the pulley or the motor unit to the drive shaft.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2014-0119219 filed on Sep. 5, 2014, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein for all purposes by this reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a hybrid compressor. More particularly, the present invention relates to a hybrid compressor capable of being operated by receiving driving force of an engine and being operated by driving force of a motor when the engine stops.

2. Description of Related Art

Generally, an air conditioning system of a vehicle, which maintains an internal temperature of the vehicle so as to be lower than an external temperature by a circulation cycle of compression, condensation, expansion, and evaporation of a coolant, necessarily includes a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve, and an evaporator configuring the circulation cycle.

Here, the compressor serves to compress and transfer the coolant and is divided into a compressor operated by receiving driving force from an engine, a compressor operated by receiving power from an electric motor separate from the engine, and a hybrid compressor operated by selectively receiving power from the engine and the electric motor depending on a driving scheme.

Among them, the hybrid compressor is operated by receiving the driving force from the engine when the engine is operated and is operated by receiving the driving force from the motor in a state in which the engine stops.

That is, in a hybrid vehicle or a vehicle in which an idle stop and go (ISG) mounted with an engine IDLE STOP function is applied, in the case in which the engine stops, an operation of the compressor operated by receiving the driving force from the engine stops, an operation of an air conditioner becomes impossible. In order to complement this disadvantage, the hybrid compressor operated by selectively receiving the driving force of the engine and the motor has been used.

However, in the hybrid compressor according to the related art as described above, a plurality of one-way bearings are used to increase the number of components, such that a structure of the hybrid compressor becomes complicated and a manufacturing cost of the hybrid compressor is increased. In addition, in the case in which a load and vibrations of a pulley are transferred to the one-way bearings vulnerable to the load, durability becomes weak.

Further, in the case in which the electric motor is positioned at the rear of the compressor, it is difficult to cool an inverter for controlling an operation of the electric motor, such that a malfunction or a fault occurs.

The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Various aspects of the present invention are directed to providing a hybrid compressor having advantages of decreasing a manufacturing cost and improving durability by optimizing a position of a motor unit so that the hybrid compressor is operated by receiving driving force of an engine when the engine is operated and is operated by driving force of the motor unit when the engine stops, during driving, and simplifying components.

An aspect of the present invention provides a hybrid compressor including a pulley rotatably mounted at one side of a housing, a drive shaft having one end portion protruding from the housing while passing through the pulley and the other end portion inserted into the housing, and selectively connected to the pulley to thereby be rotated, a rotation plate having a rotation center connected to the other end portion of the drive shaft and rotatably disposed in the housing, a swash plate hinge-coupled to one side of the rotation plate and rotated together with the rotation plate, at least one piston connected to an outer peripheral edge of the swash plate and reciprocating so as to be selectively inserted into a compression chamber provided in the housing in the case in which the swash plate is rotated, a motor unit selectively transferring a torque generated depending on whether or not power is applied thereto to the drive shaft and mounted at one side end of the housing so as to correspond to one end portion of the drive shaft, and a torque transfer unit installed at one end of the drive shaft between the pulley and the motor unit and selectively connecting the pulley or the motor unit to the drive shaft.

The motor unit may include a motor housing mounted at one side end of the housing in a state in which one end thereof encloses the pulley, a motor shaft rotatably provided in the motor housing at an opposite side to the pulley, a friction plate mounted at one end of the motor shaft corresponding to the pulley to thereby be rotated together with the motor shaft, a rotor provided at the other end portion of the motor shaft, and a stator disposed on an inner peripheral surface of the motor housing so as to correspond to the rotor.

The motor shaft may be disposed on a coaxial line with the driver shaft and may have a mounting groove formed in a front end thereof, the mounting groove having one end portion of the drive shaft partially inserted thereinto.

The drive shaft may be mounted in the mounting groove through a bearing.

The bearing may be a one-way bearing.

The torque transfer unit may include a clutch plate having a rotation center mounted at one end of the drive shaft, and a clutch member mounted on an outer peripheral surface of the clutch plate and mounted so as to be reciprocatable toward the pulley or the friction plate on the outer peripheral surface of the clutch plate based on an axial direction of the drive shaft.

The clutch member may be formed of an electromagnet generating electromagnetic force depending on whether or not power is applied thereto.

The pulley may have a magnetic force member mounted therein so as to correspond to the clutch member.

The magnetic force member may generate electromagnetic force depending on whether or not power is applied thereto, thereby connecting the clutch member to the pulley.

The pulley may be connected to an engine through a connection belt and be rotatably mounted at one end of the housing through a bearing.

The methods and apparatuses of the present invention have other features and advantages which will be apparent from or are set forth in more detail in the accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein, and the following Detailed Description, which together serve to explain certain principles of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a hybrid compressor according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram schematically shown in order to describe an internal structure of the hybrid compressor according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an operation state of the hybrid compressor according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

It should be understood that the appended drawings are not necessarily to scale, presenting a somewhat simplified representation of various features illustrative of the basic principles of the invention. The specific design features of the present invention as disclosed herein, including, for example, specific dimensions, orientations, locations, and shapes will be determined in part by the particular intended application and use environment.

In the figures, reference numbers refer to the same or equivalent parts of the present invention throughout the several figures of the drawing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of the present invention(s), examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described below. While the invention(s) will be described in conjunction with exemplary embodiments, it will be understood that the present description is not intended to limit the invention(s) to those exemplary embodiments. On the contrary, the invention(s) is/are intended to cover not only the exemplary embodiments, but also various alternatives, modifications, equivalents and other embodiments, which may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Hereinafter, an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a hybrid compressor according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram schematically shown in order to describe an internal structure of the hybrid compressor according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the hybrid compressor 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may decrease a manufacturing cost and improve durability by optimizing a position of a motor unit 120 so that the hybrid compressor 100 is operated by receiving driving force of an engine 10 when the engine 10 is operated and is operated by driving force of the motor unit 120 when the engine 10 stops, during driving, and simplifying components.

To this end, the hybrid compressor 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a pulley 103, a drive shaft 105, a rotation plate 107, a swash plate 109, pistons 113, a motor unit 120, and a torque transfer unit 130, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

First, the pulley 103 is rotatably mounted at one side of a housing 101 and receives a torque from an engine 10.

Here, the pulley 103 may be connected to the engine through a connection belt 13 and may be rotatably mounted at one end of the housing 101 through a bearing B.

The drive shaft 105 protrudes from the housing 101 to the outside while passing through the rotation center of the pulley 103, has the other end portion inserted into the housing 101, and is selectively connected to the pulley 103 to thereby be rotated.

In the present exemplary embodiment, the rotation plate 107 has the rotation center connected to the other end portion of the drive shaft 105 and is rotatably disposed in the housing 101, such that it is rotated around the rotation center axis by the drive shaft.

The swash plate 109 is hinge-coupled to the rotation plate 107 through a swash plate hinge 111 disposed at an edge of the rotation plate 107 and is rotated together with the rotation plate 107.

In addition, a plurality of pistons 113 are provided so as to correspond to at least one compression chamber 115 formed in a length direction within the housing 101, and are connected to an outer peripheral edge of the swash plate 109 at positions spaced apart from the rotation center axis by a predetermined distance.

When the swash plate 109 is rotated, the piston 113 reciprocates while being selectively inserted into the compression chamber 115, thereby compressing a working fluid including a coolant within the compression chamber 115.

Meanwhile, in the present exemplary embodiment, the swash plate 109 may be disposed so as to be inclined at a predetermined angle from the rotation plate 107 through the swash plate hinge 111, and in the case in which a gradient of the swash plate 109 is variable, a capacity of the coolant compressed by the piston 113 may be variably controlled.

In the present exemplary embodiment, the motor unit 120 selectively transfers a torque generated depending on whether or not power is applied thereto to the drive shaft 105 and is mounted at one side end of the housing 101 so as to correspond to one end portion of the drive shaft 105.

Here, the motor unit 120 includes a motor housing 121, a motor shaft 123, a friction plate 125, a rotor 127, and a stator 129.

First, the motor housing 121 is mounted at one side end of the housing 101 in a state in which one end thereof encloses the pulley 103 at a position spaced apart from an outer peripheral surface of the pulley by a predetermined interval.

The motor shaft 123 is rotatably provided in the motor housing 121 at an opposite side to the pulley 103.

The motor shaft 123 may be disposed on a coaxial line with the driver shaft 105 and may have a mounting groove 124 formed in a front end thereof, wherein the mounting groove 124 has one end portion of the drive shaft 105 partially inserted thereinto.

Here, the drive shaft 105 may be rotatably inserted into the mounting groove 124 and may be mounted through a bearing B interposed between an outer peripheral surface of a front end thereof and an inner peripheral surface of the mounting groove 124.

The bearing B interposed between the front end of the drive shaft 105 and the mounting groove 124 may be a one-way bearing.

In the present exemplary embodiment, the friction plate 125 is mounted at one end of the motor shaft 123 corresponding to the pulley 103 to thereby be rotated together with the motor shaft 123.

The rotor 127 is provided at the other end portion of the motor shaft 123 within the motor housing 121.

In addition, the stator 129 is disposed in a state in which it is fixed to an inner peripheral surface of the motor housing 121 so as to correspond to the rotor 127.

The motor unit 120 configured as described above rotates the rotor 127 between the stators 129 depending on whether or not the power is applied thereto, thereby rotating the motor shaft 123. Since an operation scheme and a structure of the motor unit 120 are the same as those of a general motor, a detailed description of an operation of the motor unit 120 will be omitted.

In the present exemplary embodiment, the torque transfer unit 130 is installed at one end of the drive shaft 105 between the pulley 103 and the motor unit 120 and selectively connects the pulley 103 or the motor unit 120 to the drive shaft 105.

The torque transfer unit 130 includes a clutch plate 131 and a clutch member 133.

First, the clutch plate 131 is formed in a disk shape and has the rotation center mounted at one end of the drive shaft 105.

In addition, the clutch member 133 is mounted on an outer peripheral surface of the clutch plate 131 and is mounted so as to be reciprocatable toward the pulley 103 or the friction plate 125 on the outer peripheral surface of the clutch plate 131 based on an axial direction of the drive shaft 105.

Here, the clutch member 133 may be formed of an electromagnet generating electromagnetic force depending on whether or not the power is applied thereto.

In addition, the pulley 103 may have a magnetic force member 119 mounted therein so as to correspond to the clutch member 133.

The magnetic force member 119 generates electromagnetic force depending on whether or not the power is applied thereto, thereby making it possible to connect the clutch member 133 to the pulley 103.

In the torque transfer unit 130 configured as described above, in the case in which a control signal of an electronic control unit (ECU) 20 is applied to the clutch member 133 or the magnetic force member 119, the clutch member 133 is maintained in a state in which it selectively contacts the pulley 103 or the friction plate 125 on the clutch plate 131, such that a torque transferred from the engine 10 through the pulley 103 or a torque transferred from the motor shaft 123 of the motor unit 120 is transferred to the drive shaft 105, thereby operating the hybrid compressor 100.

Hereinafter, an operation and an action of the hybrid compressor 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention configured as described above will be described in detail.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an operation state of the hybrid compressor according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

First, in a state in which an air conditioner is operated, in the case in which the engine 10 is driven in a driving or IDLE state of the vehicle, the ECU 20 applies a control signal to the magnetic force member 119 mounted on the pulley 103 to supply power, as shown in S1 of FIG. 3.

In this case, electromagnetic force is generated in the magnetic force member 119 and moves the clutch member 133 toward the pulley 103 on the clutch plate 131, such that the pulley 103 and the clutch member 133 are maintained in a state in which they contact each other.

Therefore, the torque transfer unit 130 transfers a torque of the pulley 103 rotated by driving force transferred from the engine 10 through the connection belt 13 to the drive shaft 105 to rotate the drive shaft 105.

That is, the drive shaft 105 is rotated by receiving the torque from the pulley 103 rotated by the driving force of the engine 10, such that each piston 113 mounted on the swash plate 109 rotated together with the rotation plate 107 reciprocates while being inserted into the compression chamber 115, thereby compressing the coolant.

As described above, in a state in which the engine 10 is operated, the drive shaft 103 is connected to the engine 10 through the connection belt 13, such that it is rotated by receiving the torque from the pulley 103 rotated by receiving the driving force of the engine 10, whereby the hybrid compressor 100 is operated by the driving force of the engine 10.

To the contrary, in a state in which the air conditioner is operated, in the case in which the engine stops by an idle stop and go (ISG) mode operation of the vehicle, the ECU 20 applies a control signal to the clutch member 133 to supply power, as shown in S2 of FIG. 3.

In this case, the power is not supplied to the magnetic force member 119, such that the electromagnetic force is not generated, and the clutch member 133 moves toward the friction plate 125 by the generated electromagnetic force, such that it is maintained in a state in which it contacts the friction plate 125.

Therefore, a torque of the motor unit 120 operated by the control signal of the ECU 20 is transferred to the drive shaft 105 through the clutch member 133 contacting the friction plate 125 rotated together with the motor shaft 123, such that the hybrid compressor 100 is operated by the motor unit 120.

That is, as described above, the hybrid compressor 100 according to the present exemplary embodiment is operated by receiving the torque from the pulley 103 when the engine is operated and is operated by receiving the torque from the motor unit 120 when the operation of the engine stops depending on the ISG mode operation, through the operation of the torque transfer unit 130 in the state in which the air conditioner is operated.

Therefore, the air conditioner of the vehicle may be smoothly operated even when the engine stops.

Therefore, when the hybrid compressor 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention configured as described above is applied, a manufacturing cost of the hybrid compressor 100 may be decreased by optimizing the position of the motor unit 120 so that the hybrid compressor 100 is operated by receiving the driving force of the engine 10 when the engine 10 is operated and is operated by the driving force of the motor unit 120 when the engine 10 stops depending on the ISG mode operation, during driving, and simplifying the components.

In addition, only the bearing B mounted between the motor shaft 123 of the motor unit 120 and the drive shaft 105 and having a small driving torque and torque variation is formed of the one-way bearing to prevent a load and vibrations of the pulley 103 to which the driving force of the engine is transferred from being transferred to the one-way bearing, thereby making it possible to improve entire durability.

In addition, the motor unit 120 is disposed at a position adjacent to the pulley 103 at an opposite side to the compression chamber 115, such that an inverter may be smoothly cooled, thereby making it possible to prevent occurrence of a malfunction and a fault of the motor.

For convenience in explanation and accurate definition in the appended claims, the terms “upper”, “lower”, “inner” and “outer” are used to describe features of the exemplary embodiments with reference to the positions of such features as displayed in the figures.

The foregoing descriptions of specific exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The exemplary embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain certain principles of the invention and their practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to make and utilize various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, as well as various alternatives and modifications thereof. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the Claims appended hereto and their equivalents. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A hybrid compressor comprising: a pulley rotatably mounted at a side of a housing; a drive shaft having a first end portion protruding from the housing while passing through the pulley and a second end portion inserted into the housing, and selectively connected to the pulley to thereby be rotated; a rotation plate having a rotation center connected to the second end portion of the drive shaft and rotatably disposed in the housing; a swash plate hinge-coupled to a side of the rotation plate and rotated together with the rotation plate; at least one piston connected to an outer peripheral edge of the swash plate and reciprocating to be selectively inserted into a compression chamber provided in the housing in a case in which the swash plate is rotated; a motor unit selectively transferring a torque generated depending on whether or not power is applied thereto to the drive shaft and mounted at a side end of the housing to correspond to the first end portion of the drive shaft; and a torque transfer unit installed at a first end of the drive shaft between the pulley and the motor unit and selectively connecting the pulley or the motor unit to the drive shaft.
 2. The hybrid compressor of claim 1, wherein the motor unit includes: a motor housing mounted at a side end of the housing in a state in which a first end thereof encloses the pulley; a motor shaft rotatably provided in the motor housing at an opposite side to the pulley; a friction plate mounted at the first end of the motor shaft corresponding to the pulley to thereby be rotated together with the motor shaft; a rotor provided at a second end portion of the motor shaft; and a stator disposed on an inner peripheral surface of the motor housing to correspond to the rotor.
 3. The hybrid compressor of claim 2, wherein the motor shaft is disposed on a coaxial line with the driver shaft and has a mounting groove formed in a front end thereof, the mounting groove having the first end portion of the drive shaft partially inserted thereinto.
 4. The hybrid compressor of claim 3, wherein the drive shaft is mounted in the mounting groove through a bearing.
 5. The hybrid compressor of claim 4, wherein the bearing is a one-way bearing.
 6. The hybrid compressor of claim 2, wherein the torque transfer unit includes: a clutch plate having a rotation center mounted at a first end of the drive shaft; and a clutch member mounted on an outer peripheral surface of the clutch plate and mounted to be reciprocatable toward the pulley or the friction plate on the outer peripheral surface of the clutch plate based on an axial direction of the drive shaft.
 7. The hybrid compressor of claim 6, wherein the clutch member is formed of an electromagnet generating electromagnetic force depending on whether or not power is applied thereto.
 8. The hybrid compressor of claim 6, wherein the pulley has a magnetic force member mounted therein to correspond to the clutch member.
 9. The hybrid compressor of claim 8, wherein the magnetic force member generates electromagnetic force depending on whether or not power is applied thereto, thereby connecting the clutch member to the pulley.
 10. The hybrid compressor of claim 1, wherein the pulley is connected to an engine through a connection belt and is rotatably mounted at a first end of the housing through a bearing. 